The Rebirth of Meiko Sakine
by Lii and Eii
Summary: A neverending summer, a library, and badminton; Meiko spends a summer with her friends, Lola and Kaito, and recieves a twist in attitude she never thought she wanted.
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is, my new story. I plan to work on this all summer, but due to the time it begins I need to start now. I don't own "Yuhi wo mite iruka?", the AKB48 song, Which's lyrics are used at the start, or Vocaloid, or any other songs mentioned.**

**THE REBIRTH OF MEIKO SAKINE**

"_What a day today was,  
>I think about it along the road home.<br>There're sad and painful moments,  
>But the fun moments outnumber them.<br>All of my family and friends,  
>I don't want to worry them.<br>I have to force myself to tell a few lies with a smile.  
>Stop taking things upon yourself…<em>

_Feeling the direction of the seasonal wind,_  
><em>And watching out for flowers at your feet,<em>  
><em>With a small encounter<em>  
><em>If you can be a little grateful,<em>  
><em>We can be happy!<em>

_Are you watching the sky as the sun sets?_  
><em>The time passes.<em>  
><em>Doesn't' that body seem beautiful?<em>  
><em>Yes! The day as it is ends<em>  
><em>And a night that resets everything comes<em>  
><em>You hurry along the road home alone<em>  
><em>Why is it that you don't praise yourself?<em>  
><em>Hey, let's look up like we should<em>  
><em>You're alive in your own way!<em>

_Human relations are troublesome,_  
><em>But we can't go on living alone!<em>  
><em>Because everyone is a weak creature,<em>  
><em>We're supporting each other<em>  
><em>As for the time being, I have a difficulty saying things.<em>  
><em>I may step on someone's foot,<em>  
><em>And I can be misunderstood,<em>  
><em>There are various other issues, too<em>  
><em>But I'm always full of hope.<em>

_Are you watching the sky as the sun sets?_  
><em>The time now is something we receive<em>  
><em>I'll teach you how to make progress!<em>  
><em>Whatever you may have lost,<em>  
><em>One day for sure it'll come back into your hands.<em>  
><em>It gets a little dark around here.<em>  
><em>The night is painted with stars that look like dotted-lines!<em>  
><em>Hey, until tomorrow comes as it should,<em>  
><em>You watch a dream in your own way!<em>

_Are you watching the sky as the sun sets?_  
><em>The time passes<em>  
><em>Doesn't' that body seem beautiful?<em>  
><em>Yes! The day as it ends!<em>  
><em>And a night that resets everything comes<em>  
><em>You hurry along the road home alone<em>  
><em>Why is it<em>  
><em>That you don't praise yourself?<em>  
><em>Hey, let's look up like we should<em>  
><em>You're alive in your own way!"<em>

* * *

><p>"One, two, three, four, five, six…!" I count aloud, for no reason in particular, hanging upside-down off my bed with my legs kicking slowly, back and forth, "Meruto!" I sing along to my iPod.<p>

"How many days until summer?" I ask myself, trying to calculate the number in my head, "Oh, but it's only April!" I laugh. It was my last few months of Junior High School, and I've decided to make the most of it.

"Meiko?" My mother calls.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready to leave?"

Oh. Am I? I guess not! I shut my iPod off, and rush to get my things together. It's a scattered mess, as usual, but I don't mind anymore.

"Coming!" I call, and I throw my backpack over my shoulder. I open the door, and Pekki dashes out.

"Eh, Pekki-kun, you can't come to school!" I chuckle, and the dog comes running back inside. I pat the white, fluffy mass's head and take off.

* * *

><p>"Hello, class! Happy Friday!" My advisory teacher says, entering the classroom.<p>

"It's Friday, Friday, Gotta get down on Friday!" Prima sings.

"Prima, quiet down!" Mrs. Ann laughs.

"Oh God, not that song," Leon grunts.

"What? It's my faaaavorite!" Prima jokes, "Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal!" I can't help but laugh along with the rest of the class.

"Shut up!" Leon whines.

"Oh, Leon, don't be such a party pooper!" Mrs. Ann says, laughing, "But we really need to start class!" The whole class laughs. I can't help but believe it will be a great day.

* * *

><p>"Meiko, why are you so happy today?" Rin asks.<p>

"I'm not sure. The weather, I suppose," I say, struggling with my gym uniform.

"Woah, Meiko's not dead?" Teto laughs, pushing past the blonde. "Dead" is always their special word for when I'm feeling detatched.

"Eh, not today," I tell them, and resume changing.

"Poke! Poke! Poke!" Rin giggles, poking at my arm.

"It jiggles!" Neru remarks, snickering.

"Eh, Neru!" Miku calls, "I got you a cookie!" She smiles, holding out an oreo.

_Thanks, Miku._ I silently oblige to the tealette as Neru nibbles at the cookie.

"Blegh!" Neru spat, spewing out the small bite she'd taken, "Miku! What the hell did you give me?" She shrieks.

"Neruuuu, people are staring!" I say, as the other female students look on in astonishment.

"It's toothpaste, silly-willy!" Miku giggled, "April fools!"

"God damn it, Miku! That's dangerous!" Neru shouts, swatting at the girl's hand.

"Dangerous?" I laugh under my breath at the blonde's over reaction.

"It's only kids toothpaste," Miku sighs, turning to face Rin.

"Totally not dangerous," Rin agrees. We all fall silent for a while.

"Meiko, come here…." Teto sighs, signaling to me.

"Yeah?" I said, sitting next to the pinkette.

"Everyone hates me. I'll only talk to you," She tells me.

"What? Nobody hates you. If anything, Neru's just a bit angry with Miku," I tell her.

"No…" She says, looking at her feet and folding her hands.

"Eh?"

"Anyway… I wish Zanzibar was still a country!" She jokes.

"Eh? But Prussia's way cooler!"

"I live in Zanzibar!" She giggles.

"Well, I'm in Sealand. I'm Lady Meiko!" I laugh.

"Yo, Meiko!"

"Hm?"

"Mrs. Lola's coming to check that we've locked our lockers!" Rin tells me, and I jump to my locker.

"Just head right out!" Mrs. Lola dismisses. I raise my eyebrows. She almost always checks.

* * *

><p>"Mtokku no tou ni namida kirashitanda hakidashitai kotoba wa..." I sing along to my iPod. I turn to notice Akaito's across the street on his skateboard. I stick my tongue out and pull on my lower eyelid, teasing him.<p>

"Go away!" Akaito shouts, skateboarding down the street. Akaito's lived down the street for about three years now, and we've hated each other since the day we met. I've always thought he was a showoff, since he always rides by my house, doing flips and other tricks on his bike. I have his phone number specifically for prank calls, and it's been listed as "Akaito the Ass". I've called once, which was a mistake. He was standing right across the street, and saw me sitting in the trees laughing at him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where'd they go?" I ask Dell, while at rehersal for the school musical. Don't misunderstand and think I have any sort of talent- I'm in stage crew.

What? I enjoy it.

I really, truthfully do.

"Miku and Rin? They're playing Kingdom Hearts. On _my _ PSP."

"Hmh," I say. Those two…. It's almost insane how undedicated they are. It drives me mad. Utterly, truthfully mad.

"They. Have. Missed. _Two_. Cues," Gumi growls, "_Two_ of them. Who does that? I've had to do _all of them. _Me and Sochi,"

"Ugh…"

"Hey, Aku? Wanna find them?"

"Sure," She shrugs, and we head out. Out the stage door, into the hall. Sure enough, just as Dell said, they're sitting on a desk outside a classroom with his blue PSP.

"Okay, go back…" I sigh, motioning back at Aku Yamine, who is behind me.

"M-Meiko!" She squeaks, cupping her hand over her mouth. Ms. Kiyomi, who's in charge of stage crew, walks by, straight to Miku and Rin.

"Girls. This is _it_. Either you watch the show or you're _out_."

Me and Aku rush backstage, to avoid being seen. I'm almost positive Miku saw me, and we both know Ms. Kiyomi saw.

"Eh?" I've bumped into someone, it seems. They've grabbed my arm through the curtain.

"Meiko?"

"Kaito?"

"It's you! Okay, I was worried I'd grabbed a stranger!" He laughs.

"Ah," I say. Kaito's actually _in _the musical. He's been my best friend for years, but I've only heard him sing once. It was last week, he'd been singing a song… the words, I can hardly remember. His voice sounded nice… something I, honestly, never expected of Kaito. And the dances in the show are very lighthearted and energetic- the smile on Kaito's face makes me laugh. It's not that he never smiles- it's just I'm not used to him smiling so exaggeratedly.

"Daughter!" Iroha cries out from behind the curtain.

"Mother!" I call. Iroha's supposedly adopted me- as of yesterday. Iroha's talented- she's sung at a famous orchestra's concert, I've heard. She loves cats, and Her hair is really long. Why am I telling you this? Maybe I just want to build up description- Her hair is long and pink. Yes, it's pink. Miku's is teal, Kaito's is blue, Gumi's is green, Aku's is grey- what do you expect?

We hug quickly and delicately, careful not to break her microphone, and I head over to Aku and Gumi.

"Do you hate them?" Aku asks quietly. Luckily, the two are on the other side of the stage- by Kaito. Well, at least they're not bothering him. Kaito's very easily annoyed, like me.

"Miku and Rin?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Honestly…" I begin, "Yes… so much."

"Hah! I knew it! I told you so, Gumi!" Gumi chuckles and rolls her eyes a bit. Gumi's known since forever- we text day and night. However, she had her texting source taken away- she's a bit of a rebellious girl.

"More Miku," I admit, "But I shouldn't say it."

"It's alright- you've kept it in for so long. Let it _all _out!" Aku laughs.

"Well, Rin is scary when she's mad-"

"Shhhht!" Aku flails her arms, eyes wide, warning me of something. And then I see it. Miku standing behind her. And Rin is following close behind.

**Fail short chapter! I'm sorry! I had to post at least this- it's been over a month! I hope you enjoyed it! If so, review! If not, review! I love to hear all of your thoughts.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, NEVER listen to stupid people on youtube while writing. Then it makes every bit of dialogue sound like them, and then you think the story's dumb, and then you rewrite it…. **

**So instead, I listened to "Hello/How are you?" while writing. If you're interested. It almost goes along with this chapter, I guess. The mood, I mean! **

**Have….fun!**

This summer, I know, will be spent with Kaito and Lola, Kaito and Lola, Kaito and Lola. Like last summer, and the summer before, and every summer prior. We'll go to Kaito's our last day of school, and Lola's on our first, and we'll spend the days in between at the library and the public pool. Lola's going to ask me how she looks in a bikini, and I'll tell her to ask Kaito, and he'll blush, like usual. We're all close …. In our neighborhood, aside from Akaito, I just have them. There are a few others, but we've never spoken outside of school. I'm not sure if they'd want to. We don't talk much in school, either.

Summer's a nice time, isn't it? You're done and don't have to worry over homework, and it's hot outside…

Two very cliché reasons.

Anyway, back to my summers. When we go to the swimming pool, we have a system. Yuki pushes Lola into the pool, Lola pushes Kaito's little sister, Kaiko, Kaiko pushes me, and I push Kaito. Kaito's persistent; he'll never fall in. Usually it takes four pushes, or Kaiko will grab his foot and drag him into the pool, calling him "Bakaito". Kaiko's strong for a ten-year-old. One day she pushed me in, right onto the filter, and I scraped my hand pretty bad. Another time, she pushed me in right after I pushed her brother, and I accidentally kicked him in the head.

We like to play a strange variant of hide-and-seek with partners. The teams are always Kaiko and Lola, Meiko and Kaito, Yuki and Leon, Lola's brother. Kaito and I hid in Kaiko's toy closet, which had a small window. She noticed movement, said "I've found you, now you die!" And threw herself through the window, landing on Kaito. I had to step as far as the closet space allowed to avoid falling victim to a sibling wrestling match. In short, Kaiko's a ball of energy, and dangerously competitive in hide-and-seek "Shion edition".

Currently, I'm backstage with Kaito. Surprised?

"Kaito, are you addicted to stairs?" I joke. There's some stairs leading up to a platform on stage, and I've found Kaito sitting on them, and he looked like he'd been thinking when I came. Thankfully, he's not interrupting the show. The curtain's closed for a duet.

"No," He laughs, "Unlike you, I have no addictions."

"What about ice cream?"

"S-shut up."

"If you're not addicted to that, I'm not addicted to green tea."

"M-Maybe a little."

At this point, I'm on the stairs too.

"How much did you drink today?" He asks.

"None…" He smiles warmly.

"See? I knew-"

"…Yet," I interrupt. He rolls his eyes.

"Meiko!"

"Hmph!"

" Meiko?"

"Hm?"

"What did Miku and Rin say the other day?"

"Oh…Nothing. I don't think they heard. I acted like I'd been talking about Ms. Kiyomi."

"Nice recovery, then."

"Thanks."

"Kaito?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry I interrupted you."

"It's okay."

The next few minutes are quiet as we sit. The curtain starts to open, and we get off.

"Meiko! Dell kicked me!" Aku yells.

"Dell!" I scold, "No kicking!" He sticks his tongue out, "Ugh, Dell."

Kaito's sitting behind us, and staring at his feet.

"Hah!" Dell shouts suddenly, aiming at Kaito's face with his finger pointed like a gun. His PSP is in his hand as usual, but behind his back. He's pressing buttons to make it sound like gun triggers.

"Cut it out, Dell!"

"Hah!" He spins, doing the same to me. I rip an ear bud out his ear.

"Gah! Gaaah!" He hisses, "Meiko!"

"Don't shoot me, idiot!" I joke.

"Onstage for bows!" Ms. Kiyomi calls.

"Here we go!"


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm very very sorry this took me so long. I was having a hard time getting access to a computer, but I've got one temporarily. Thank you for waiting so patiently, everyone. *bows* **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid, Chinen Yuri (Hey Say JUMP) or Maeda Atsuko (AKB48)**

**Thank you to those who read and review. I appreciate it a lot, it makes me smile a whole bunch!**

* * *

><p>Taking bows is never easy. Then last bows, that's even harder. But as a crew member, it never feels quite right. You've been sitting behind the curtain for months, perfecting your positioning so you're invisible to the audience, and then suddenly you're expected to come onstage alongside the performers and act like it's natural.<p>

This is one of those things I can't perfect. What do I do onstage? I wave like a spacey moron.

"Meiko, I loved how you just stood there and waved," Mrs. Kagene will always tell me.

"Go! Go! _Go!_" Kite, curtain crew, orders the rest of us backstage.

"The light, it burns!" Dell jokes. This is what we do. Flee from the spotlight as soon as humanly possible. Bows are just unnatural for us. We rush back to our positions, determined scowl as I cling to my broom to sweep up excess feathers from costumes. We're stampeded bythe performers, all cheering and crying and the like.

"Watch. _Out!_" Dell snaps at a first-year actress who has stepped on his foot. He rolls his eyes as six more join her, and then joins me.

"My job," He says.

"No, mine!" I stick my tongue out and push past him.

"Whatever," He grunts, chucking a ball of tape at my head and walking away.

"Meiko!" Rui squeals, rushing over, "I got you a lollipop bouquet!~"

"It's weird to be the one receiving this!" I laugh lightly and am disappointed when expecting a response.

"Ah…It's been far too long, Meimei!" She sighs happily. Rui and I have been best friends since kindergarten. Since we both moved schools, seeing each other is difficult and we rarely see each other lately.

"Can we go home, Ruu-chan? I'm tired!" I say.

"We don't live together!"

"Unfortunately."

"And I want to take you to sushi!"

"Then I need to come! Tamago and green tea, perfect for an after-show treat!" I grin.

"You say they're perfect for _everything_!" She laughs.

Well, I will call this a successful performance now.

* * *

><p>"So who do you like, Meiko?" Lola asks. It's summer vacation now, and we are leaning over a bridge, overlooking a small river. It's been nice weather all day.<p>

"Keep quiet, nobody," I spit.

"There has to be a special guy~" She coos. Now she's attracted Kaito's attention.

"Chinen Yuri," I state, crossing my arms.

"That doesn't count, Meiko! He's an idol!"

"Well it should!" I argue.

"If it did, we could say that Kaito has a crush on Maeda Atsuko!"

"I do not!" Kaito says, annoyed.

"Silly boy! Don't underestimate love~" Lola chuckles.

"Jeez," Kaito coughs. "It smells like Tokyo right here." He points to the river under the bridge we stand on.

"How many places have you lived?"

"Tokyo, Abashiri, Hakodate…" He lists, "I might be moving to Okinawa."

"Wha?" I shout a little. He just moved here! Just a few years back, he's ready to leave?

"If my dad's promoted. But I don't want to leave, I like it here," He says.

"But Okinawa is so pretty!" I say.

"But all my friends are here, in Sapporo," He protests with a small huff, "I can't imagine leaving, not now."

"It's too bad. You better not move!" I order, showing a fist quickly, then re-placing my hand on the bridge to regain balance, "We want you here!"

"I want to stay here, too."

* * *

><p>I've learned that everyone has thoughts. Some people more than others. If you're quiet enough, you can think about everything. How the paint in the kitchen isn't quite blue, what bit of earth perfectly matches your eye color, or how grass becomes lighter the closer it gets to the ground. Some trees are easier to examine than others, and the leaves of a ginkgo tree feel like shiny, wet rubber. People's eyes change with their emotions, and everyone's skin has a level of radiance.<p>

I wish more people knew these things.

Maybe speaking would be less difficult to avoid if other people thought more about the little things. Let's all step away from the big picture and realize everything.

Some things, I don't want people to know. One of these things is that at night, I'll turn the internet on and read all sorts of fanfictions. Well, people know I read them. But they don't know it's yaoi.

Yes, Meiko Sakine likes yaoi. Please don't hurt me.

I have always had he romantic interests of an acorn, but it's a nice escape. You have one too, right? When you're feeling stress, you turn to it and say "Well, at least not everything's _all_ bad. And you can't help your interests. Rin likes choreography, Miku likes to paint, and I like… same-sex fluff.

There's a difference in there, eh? Mine is a bit off, don't you think? I'm terribly shy about my interests. Escpecially interests involving _these _things. I don't want anyone to know, but I see why people think "Well what do you care?"

But I'm Meiko. Meiko isn't like that.

Meiko is the strong one, unshaken by anything. Meiko isn't going to let some silly little fanmade romantic tale make her blush. Not Meiko.

But _me, I'm _the one staying up late and having turn away from the screen to squeeze in a few "Kya"s and "Uwah, so cute, so terribly cute!" As if I jump on every little bandwagon out there, a hopeless romantic. That's not who Meiko is, is it?

Is Meiko Sakine someone different from me?

I intend to find out.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you very much for reading! I work hard and I try my best, I like hearing what you say! ^ ^<strong>

**Please answer these in a review if you can~**

**Did you like it? Did you not? How can Eii improve? How is my spelling? My grammar? Any ideas or constructive criticism? **

**Thank you and signing off!**

**Eii **


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